March 28, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

By Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury, Tori B. Powell, Elise Hammond and Aditi Sangal, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, March 29, 2024

What we covered here

Officials are moving at “full speed” on several priorities after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, including reopening the shipping channel and restarting port traffic, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Thursday.
The federal government has given the $60 million requested by Moore as a “down payment” toward cleaning up and rebuilding the bridge.
The bodies of two of the six construction workers who died were recovered Wednesday and Baltimore's mayor said Thursday he's hopeful the bodies of the other four men will eventually be retrieved from the debris-filled water.
The massive crash caused by a cargo vessel will likely lead to billions of dollars in liability claims and marine insurance companies will be on the hook for much of the costs. Here's how the collapse happened.

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5:11 a.m. ET, March 28, 2024

Officials pause recovery efforts for 4 workers presumed dead after bridge collapse

From CNN's Aditi Sangal and Elise Hammond

Authorities are pausing recovery efforts for the four additional people who are presumed dead after the bridge collapse, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the superintendent of Maryland State Police said Wednesday evening.

“At this point, based upon the conditions, we are now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation," he said.

"Because of the superstructure surrounding what we believe were the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris, divers are no longer able to safely navigate and operate around that," he said.

"We have exhausted all search efforts."

The superintendent added that based on sonar scans, officials believe that the vehicles are "encased in the superstructure and concrete" of the bridge.

Butler Jr. added that there is "no definitive timeline" for how long the salvage phase will take, once it is complete, the divers will go back to the site.

“The sonar simply said they cannot get to that area because it was fully encased in the superstructure," he said. “Once that salvage effort takes place and that superstructure is removed, those same divers are going to go back out there and bring those people closure," he added.

5:11 a.m. ET, March 28, 2024

Officials recover bodies of 2 missing bridge workers

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the head of the Maryland State Police, speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, March 27. Governor Wes Moore/Youtube

Officials have recovered the bodies of two of the missing workers who were on the Francis Scott Key bridge when it collapsed, the head of the Maryland State Police said Wednesday.

Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said that shortly before 10 a.m. ET divers found a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water.

“Divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trapped within the vehicle,” Butler said.

He said Maryland State Police notified the families of those found about an hour ago. Their names were given as:

Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico
Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala

The workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge at the time of the incident, were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, officials said.

Butler Jr. confirmed that both men whose bodies were found today were working for the construction company. One was identified by a driver’s license in his pocket, the other was identified by fingerprint, he said.

5:11 a.m. ET, March 28, 2024

Deceased people were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are the countries of origin for the six people who are presumed dead following the bridge collapse, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the superintendent of Maryland State Police, said Wednesday at a news conference.

"The notifications to these individuals' family members and loved ones outside of the United States is being handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and accordance with their established protocols," he said.

"Again, I encourage you all to think about these people and those that they love and they lost. They're going to need your love and support."

5:11 a.m. ET, March 28, 2024

Maryland submits request to Biden administration for emergency relief funds, governor says

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

Maryland has submitted a request to President Joe Biden's administration for emergency relief funds "to assist in our work going forward," Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday.

Moore said he spoke to Biden Wednesday by phone.

Remember: Biden pledged the full support of the federal government in the response and recovery efforts after Tuesday’s collapse. His administration has already conveyed a sense of urgency to open up federal funding to remove debris and ultimately rebuild the bridge.